10:45 PM,
Aug. 19, 2011

Rep. Jon Runyan listens to a question from Marianne Clemente of Barnegat during a town hall meeting in Berkeley on Friday.

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A little bit of political mischief preceded a scheduled appearance Friday by Rep. Jon Runyan, R-N.J., at a retirement community clubhouse.

Runyan's staff had planned an informal meet-and-greet with residents mostly living in the Holiday City section of town. But last week, Democrats blitzed constituents and informed the local media that Runyan was staging a rare town hall meeting on the future of Medicare and Social Security.

About 75 people showed up to the early afternoon event and took seats in an auditorium. Runyan took to the floor with a microphone in hand and accompanied by an aide ...